Sermon XII. - For the Sunday of Septuagesima
Importance of eternal salvation.
Eos in Misitano Vineam Suam. (Mt. 20.2.)
The vineyards of the Lord is our souls that we have been given hills to cultivate good deeds, so that one day may be admitted into eternal glory. But big deal! Salvian wrote: Quid due east, quod christianus, future credit is not timeat future? Christians believe in death, sue the hell, heaven, but he did not believe as they live, as these truths of faith were fables and inventions of wits. Many live as if they had never died, or how they had to give account to God in their lives, and as there was neither hell nor heaven. Maybe you do not believe? I believe, but do not think, and so are lost. They all care for the stores of the earth, and think nothing of the soul. I want so much to you today to consider the store to save the soul is the most important business of all affairs;
Step I. For the lost soul, all is lost;
Point II. Because the soul once lost, is lost forever.
Step I. Soul lost, all is lost.
St. Paul wrote: rogamus autem vos, fratres, ut negotium vestrum agatis 1. Most of 'worldly use all the attention for the stores of the earth: that coach does not put the dispute to gain, to obtain that place, the marriage! How many vehicles, how many steps they kill! Not eating, not sleeping. And to save the soul, what then? Each one is ashamed of being told it is neglected in the affairs of his thing, and then many are not ashamed of neglecting the health of the soul! My brethren, says s. Paul, I want you to wait-especially to make your store, ut negotium vestrum agatis, ie the store of your eternal salvation.
He says s. Bernard Nugae puerorum nugae vocantur, nugae maiorum, negotia vocantur. The Frascheri de 'children are called Frascheri, trifles, bays, coves and the big shops are called, and these bays many lose their souls. If you suffer damage in a shop can build another, but if one dies from grace of God and lose your soul, with which it can never compensate for this loss? Quam dabit homo commutationem his soul per second? He says s. Eutherius these neglected for the soul: pretiosus quam sis, or homo, is not credis Creators, Redemptorem 3 questions. If you do not want your soul what it's worth believing in God who created in his image, believe in Jesus Christ who has redeemed with his blood the same: Do not speed corruptibilibus auro silver, writes s. Peter redemptio estis ... sed pretioso almost sanguine agni immaculati Christi 4.
God so much esteem thy soul. The devil still esteem so much that to be made a master, not sleeping, but is continually turning round about to make her his. So, says s. Augustine: Vigilat hostis, Dormis you? The enemy is always watching against you, and you sleep? Pope Benedict XII. requested by a prince of a favor, he could not grant without scruple of conscience, the ambassador replied: write to your prince, that if I had two souls I might lose one to please, but not having that, I can not lose. And thus denied him the favor asked.
My brother, you mean well, if you save the soul, no matter what mistakes all the other shops in the ground, saved will be fully happy for all eternity. But if you lose your soul, you will benefit in this world have had the riches, honors and amusements? Losing the soul you lost everything: Quid prodest homini, you Mundum universum lucretur, animae true suae detrimentum patiatur 5? With this maxim s. Ignatius of Loyola drew many souls to God, and especially the soul of St. Francis Xavier, who being in Paris was waiting to buy goods of the earth, but one day told him about s. Ignatius, and said: "Francis, who needs it? Serve the world, a traitor who promises and does not wait. And while waiting, how long the goods it promises? They can last more than life? And after his death to benefit you, if you do not you will be saved? "And then it reminded him of the decision of the Gospel: Quid prodest homini etc.. Porro unum east necessarium 6. You do not need to get rich in this land, to buy the honor and dignity, but it is necessary to save their souls, because if we do not go to heaven, we will be condemned to hell. There is no middle way, or saved or damned. God did not create us for this land, nor do we preserve the life or take to make us rich amusements: finem real life aeternam 7. He created us and gives us life so that we acquire eternal life.
Who does not wait for above all things to save the soul, says St. Philip Blacks, which is crazy. If ever there were men in the earth and mortal men immortal, immortals and mortals saw all applied to obtain goods of the world, they would say oh you are crazy! You can make purchases of goods of immense and eternal paradise, and you lose the time to procure these goods mean the land, and will soon end in death? And that puts you at risk of going to suffer eternally in hell? Let these earthly things we expect only unfortunate that it all ends in death. But no, we are all immortal, and each of us in the afterlife has to be either eternally happy or eternally miserable. But this is the misfortune of many, who think only this and nothing in the future. Utinam saperent et intelligerent, BC 8 providerent very new! Oh know get away from 'good things that exist, that just last and predict what will happen in the end they have to be death, which is being made king of heaven or hell or slaves for all eternity! The appointed s. Philip one day finding himself talking to a young man named Francis Zazzera, that being talented he hoped to make his fortune in the world, said this: happily, son, you will do great good fortune, you'll be good lawyer, then you prelate, Cardinal then perhaps , and who knows maybe even the pope. And then what? And then what? Go, said in the end, think about these two words. He left the young man, meditating in his house and those two words: And then? And then what? He left the earthly hopes, and gave everything to God, leaving the world, and entering the same congregation of St. Philip, where he died piously.
Figure 9 Praeterit huius mundi. Wrote these words of Cornelius a Lapide: Mundus east scenae instar. Our present life is a comedy and ends up passing. Blessed is he who in this play is good for his part in saving his soul, or else if he expected to accumulate riches and honors of the world, with reason be called crazy, and he will be blamed in death what he was told that rich of the gospel: Stulte, hac nightly animam tuam repetunt to you: quae autem pilasters deceased ERUNT 10? Toledo explains that word repetunt, and says that the Lord has in store for the soul on guard against the assaults of 'enemies, so in death the angels are to repeat to you your soul, and submit to the tribunal of Jesus Christ but if you have lost the soul, just waiting to buy land assets, these assets are no longer yours, but to others, and what about your soul?
Poor worldly! Of all the riches acquired, all the pumps made in this land, which they will be in death? Dormierunt somnum suum et nihil invenerunt omnes viruses in divitiarum Manibus suis 11. The dream will end in death, what is the present life, and nothing will be purchased for eternity. Being asked to so many great ones of the earth, princes, emperors in their lives abounded with riches, honors, pleasures, and are now in hell Tell me, who are now possessed of so much wealth in this world? Meet the wretched crying and we want to find? Nothing, nothing. It had so many honors, delights enjoyed by so many, so many pumps and triumphs that you find there? Respond screaming nothing, nothing.
Had therefore no reason s. Francis Xavier in the world to say that there is only one good and one evil: the only good is saved, and the only evil damnation. So David says in Domino petii UNAM, et hanc requiram, inhabitem ut in domo Domini 12. One thing I have sought and always try to God that will give me the grace to save my soul because the soul saved, everything will be saved, and lost his soul, will lose everything. And what is more important is that the soul once lost, is lost forever. And we pass to the second point.
Point II. Lost its soul when it is lost forever.
The importance is that once you die. If you die twice, someone could lose your soul in the first, and then retrieve it and save it in the second. But no, once you die, wrong the first time, it is wrong for ever. This often inculcated s. Teresa to her nuns: Daughters, he said, a soul, forever. And he wished to say, a soul, lost it, lost it all: an eternity, the soul once lost, is lost forever: Periisse Semel aeternum east.
He writes s. Eucherius that there is no greater mistake than that neglecting the store of eternal salvation: Healthy above omnem errorem east conceal negotium aeternae salutis. Error over every mistake, because it is a mistake without remedy. To other errors may be the remedy, if one loses one can buy stuff for a way to another: if he loses a job, a dignity, may hereafter recover it: though losing a life, if you save, all is remedied. But for those who give and lose your soul, to this loss there is no remedy. This is the cry of 'poor damned, thinking that it is over time to save themselves, and so there is more hope of a remedy to their eternal ruin: After aestas east, et nos 13 sumus not saved. To weep and weep inconsolably for ever saying: Ergo erravimus Via Veritatis, et nobis Luxit not iustitiae lumens 14. But that will serve them will know the mistake made after that there is more shelter?
This is the greatest punishment of the damned, to think that have lost the soul, and have lost one's own fault: your Perditio, Israel, tantummodo auxilium tuum in me 15. O miserable! God says a damn, your perditio, ie former you; is to say, you sin, you were with the cause of your damnation, while I was ready to save you, if you wanted to wait for your health. He writes s. Teresa that if one loses his carelessness for a ring, a robe, a trifle, not eating, not sleeping, no peace, thinking that he lost his own. Oh God! And what punishment will the damned in hell when it came, to think that he lost his soul, has lost everything, and lost forever because of you!
We must therefore put forward that from today all our care to save the soul. It is not, says St. Thurs Chrysostom, of losing some good land, with the death that finally we have to leave one day, it's a paradise lost, and going to suffer in hell forever: De immortalibus suppliciis, de res coelestis kingdoms ADMISSION Agitur. We must have great fear, and tremble damn, so we can procure eternal salvation: Cum metu et tremor vestram salutem operamini 16. And so if we want to save, we need to do strength to flee the occasions, to resist the temptation to frequent the sacraments. The sky is not acquired without trouble: Violent rapiunt illud. The saints tremble, thinking of eternity. S. Andrew Avellino was crying, saying, and who knows if I, or unless they give me? S. Louis shook Beltrando saying that about me in the other world? And we not fear? We pray Jesus Christ and his SS. Mother, who give us their help to save face, since this is the flagship store for us, who, having success for us, we will be forever happy, having bad outcome, we will be unhappy forever.
Notes 1 Thess. 4. 10. 2 Mt. 16. 26. 3 S. Eutheria. Homily. 2. in Symb. 4 1. Petr. 1. 18. and 19. 5 Mt. 16. 26. 6 Luc. 10. 42. Romans 7 6. 22. Deut 8. 32. 29. 9 1. Cor. 7. 31. 10 Luc. 12. 20. 11 PSAL. 75. 6. 12 PSAL. 26. 4. 13 Ier. 8. 20. 14 Wis. 5. 6. 15 Hosea 13. 9. 16 Philip. 2. 12.
